The small energy outfit from Montana that won a $300 million contract to help rebuild Puerto Rico’s tattered power grid had few employees of its own, so it did what the Puerto Rican authorities could have done: It turned to Florida for workers.

For their trouble, the six electrical workers from Kissimmee are earning $42 an hour, plus overtime. The senior power linemen from Lakeland are earning $63 an hour working in Puerto Rico, the Florida utility said. Their 40 co-workers from Jacksonville, also linemen, are making up to $100 earning double time, public records show.

But the Montana company that hired the workers, Whitefish Energy Holdings, had a contract that allowed it to bill the Puerto Rican public power company, known as Prepa, $319 an hour for linemen, a rate that industry experts said was far above the norm even for emergency work — and almost 17 times the average salary of their counterparts in Puerto Rico.

A spokesman for Whitefish, Chris Chiames, defended the costs, saying that “simply looking at the rate differential does not take into account Whitefish’s overhead costs,” which were built into the rate.

“We have to pay a premium to entice the labor to come to Puerto Rico to work,” Mr. Chiames said. Many workers are paid overtime for all the time they work. Overtime pay varies by type of worker, union membership, mainland utility company and many other factors.

If you are seeking to do business with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in support of a disaster recovery effort, please be aware that in accordance with the Robert T. Stafford Act, FEMA seeks out local companies to perform contract work within the disaster area for goods and services related to a specific disaster.

You can use this link — www.moveit.gsa.gov — for access to the General Services Administration (GSA) Transportation Management Services Solution (TMSS). FEMA procures many of its transportation needs through GSA including: truckload services, air charter, barges, air freight, air ambulance, heavy hauler, rail, vehicle rental, truck rental, travel trailers, and mobile homes.

Please Note: There are companies that mimic services of Federal agencies, and these companies typically charge fees for services that your business can typically accomplish yourself. Be aware that most, if not all, Federal Government services are free of charge. If you are approached by letter, email or phone to buy access to federal contracting opportunities, always make it a practice to reach out to the appropriate Federal agency first to inquire about the validity of the service, specifically if a fee is associated with it. An excellent source of no-cost assistance associated with navigating the government contracting process is the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC). You may contact GTPAC via email at: gtpacatl@innovate.gatech.edu. If your business is located outside the state of Georgia, you can find similar no- or low-cost help at: http://www.aptac-us.org/find-a-ptac.

Helpful Tips For Contractors:

Get to know the Federal Business Opportunities website www.fbo.gov (known as FedBizOpps or FBO). FedBizOpps is the single point-of-entry to search, monitor, and retrieve Federal procurement opportunities. You will also find subcontractor, supplier and teaming opportunities here.

Monitor the Department of Homeland Security’s planned contract opportunities on the DHS Acquisition Planning Forecast System (APFS) located at: http://apfs.dhs.gov/.

Promote your business in electronic catalogs. If you are a GSA Schedule contractor, GSA Advantage and other electronic commerce initiatives will allow you to list your products or services for government browsing.

To federal construction contractors, the true legwork may seem to begin only after the government has accepted a proposal and performance has begun. However, a recent Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) decision reinforces that federal construction contractors’ work often should begin long before contract award.

In Zafer ConstructionCompany, ASBCA No. 56769 (2017), the ASBCA rejected a construction contractor’s allegations of unilateral mistake, unconscionability, and differing site conditions (among other claims for additional costs). The problem? The contractor did not attend a government scheduled site visit, conduct an independent site visit, review technical drawings, submit any inquiries during the proposal stage, or otherwise take reasonable steps necessary to better ascertain the nature of the work prior to submitting a multimillion dollar proposal on a complex project.

By way of background, the contract in Zafer involved the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ procurement of renovation work at the Afghanistan National Military Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. In 2004, the buildings at this site had fallen into varying states of disrepair. In preparation for issuing the solicitation, the government employed an assessment team (called the Baker team) to survey the site, assess the condition of the buildings and infrastructure, and prepare a report for the government’s use in budgeting and defining the scope of work.

The Dept. of Veterans Affairs is seeking congressional approval for a plan to get moving on $1.4 billion in major construction projects that have been stalled because of differences in funding projects at VA and at the Army Corps of Engineers — which is handling design and construction for VA at those delayed projects.

More broadly, VA also is studying what to do about its hundreds of vacant or underused facilities.

Dr. David Shulkin, confirmed in February as the VA’s new secretary, told reporters in a May 31 White House briefing that 11 VA projects have been held up because the VA and the Corps “still are trying to work through very difficult processes and interpretation of appropriation rules.”

Shulkin, a physician by training, added, “We’re waiting for congressional approval on a joint proposal to move forward, which would allow these projects to move ahead.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville (CEHNC) is holding a virtual industry day for the Utility Monitoring and Control Systems (UMCS) on 04 April 2017 from 1300 hours to 1700 hours Central Daylight Savings Time (CDT).

CEHNC is seeking qualified firms to procure and install Utility Monitoring and Control Systems (UMCS) in anticipation of awarding the fifth generation (UMCS V) of multiple Indefinite Delivery/ Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contracts for the UMCS program. CEHNC anticipates awarding contracts with a four-year base ordering period and three one-year option ordering periods. The anticipated program capacity shared by all awarded contracts is approximately $2.75 billion. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541512, Computer Systems Design Services. The small business size standard is $27.5 million.

Pre-registration is a requirement for this event. Please contact LaShonda Smith, Business Advisor / Contract Specialist at lashonda.smith@usace.army.mil if you plan to attend. Please include your company name, name of each attendee, including an email address and phone number for each attendee. All registrations must be received no later than 31 March, 2017. Upon completion of registration, registrants will be provided access codes for the Virtual Industry Day.

TThe agenda will consist of an overview of the Scope of Work, planned acquisition strategy, tips and best practices for Small Business, and a Question and Answer (Q&A) session. This event will allow the Government to provide valuable information to industry regarding the acquisition, answer any questions concerning the requirement and the planned acquisition approach, and receive buy-in from industry.

The Trump Administration has compiled a list of about 50 infrastructure projects nationwide — totaling more than $137 billion, which could represent the core of major of domestic spending in coming years.

The list is entitled “Emergency & National Security Projects,” and was reportedly shared with the National Governors Association in December requesting further suggestions. The letter from the Presidential Transition Team states that it is “looking for 3 to 5 project suggestions from each state that they would vet for inclusion in a new program.”

One project in Georgia currently appears on the list of proposed projects — acceleration of the Savannah Harbor Expansion project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Jacksonville District (Corps) will hold an Industry Day for the Maintenance Dredging Projects at Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, Georgia on Thursday, June 23, 2016 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm at the Prudential Building, 701 San Marco Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32207.

The purpose of this event is to re-introduce the Dredging Industry to the Maintenance Dredging Projects at Naval Submarine Base, Kings Bay, Georgia. Additionally this event will provide an opportunity to not only discuss the forthcoming requirements, but openly discuss project challenges and potential acquisition strategies which will increase competition.

Work Descriptions

Kings Bay Entrance Channel: Kings Bay Entrance Channel, which is located in the St. Mary’s River and Cumberland Sound at the Georgia-Florida boundary, has a performance which typically commences in December and concludes no later than March 31st. This requirement consists of maintenance dredging of portions of the Kings Bay Entrance and Inner Channels to a specified required depth. This combined project, referred to as Kings Bay Entrance Channel, requires excavated material be distributed among the North Beach Disposal Area (D/A-NB), the Fernandina Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site (ODMDS) (D/A-O) and the Fernandina Nearshore Disposal Area (D/A-N); as such U.S. Coast Guard Certification is required. Incidental work associated with the Entrance Channel includes turbidity monitoring, environmental species monitoring, vibration monitoring and sea turtle non-capture trawling.

Kings Bay Inner Channel: Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base is located near St. Mary’s, Camden County, Georgia or five miles north of the Georgia/Florida border and 28 miles north of the Jacksonville International Airport (JAX). Water access to the Subase is approximately 10 nautical miles from the Atlantic Ocean through the confluence of the St. Mary’s and Amelia Rivers at Cumberland Sound and along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AIWW). The channel connecting the inshore waterways to the Subase is known as Kings Bay Inner Channel (KBIC) and is approximately 8.6 nautical miles west of the mouth of the St. Mary’s Entrance (River Stations 00+000 to 48+250). This requirement is typically performed from late Spring to early Summer and consists of maintenance dredging of portions of the Kings Bay Inner Channel and placing excavated material at Disposal Area Crab Island (D/A-C). NOTE: Previous Inner Channel projects have included maintenance dredging of Marine Corps Support Facility – Blount Island, which is located approximately 8.0 miles northeast of downtown Jacksonville, Florida and 9 miles west of the mouth of the St. Johns River. The disposal area for this feature of work is Dayson Island DMMA (D/A-D). Incidental work associated with both the Inner Channel and Blount Island features of work include turbidity monitoring, environmental species monitoring and bird monitoring.

The NAICS code assigned to this work is 237990 – Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction.

Industry Day Registration Requirements

To register for this event, email your firm name, as well as list of attendees, to Timothy Donnellan at Timothy.A.Donnellan@usace.army.mil. Your registration will be confirmed via email.

This event is ONLY for those firms interested in these specific requirements. Seating is limited to 100; only 3 individuals per firm will be allowed to register/attend. Once capacity is reached, registration will be closed. Registration requests received after June 15, 2016 will not be honored; walk-ups will not be admitted.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a decision in the matter of FedServ-RBS JV, LLC, B-411790, October 26, 2015, that offers little assurance for small companies seeking to form SBA-approved joint ventures in pursuit of government business.

Though consistent with GAO precedent and apparently in concert with Small Business Administration (SBA) regulatory guidance, the decision puts significant cost risk on aspiring joint venture partners and forces contracting agencies to award to second-place bidders if the SBA fails to timely approve a joint venture request.

On May 29, 2015, the Army Corps of Engineers received five timely proposals for a competitive 8(a) set aside contract. One of the proposals was from the protester, FedServ-RBS JV. FedServ, an 8(a) participant, and RBS, a non-8(a) small business, formed the joint venture in advance of the proposal and submitted their JV application to the SBA on June 4, 2015. On June 16, the SBA responded with a deficiency letter setting forth certain apparently curable missing items from the application. FedServ-RBS unfortunately did not respond to the letter immediately, and provided an updated JV application that the SBA received on July 2.

A construction contractor was unable to recover the costs of performing changed work allegedly ordered by the government’s project engineers because the engineers did not have authority to modify the contract.As demonstrated in a recent Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) decision, only a contracting officer or the contracting officer’s designated representatives may modify a contract, and a contractor bears the risk of non-payment by performing changed work directed by an unauthorized government employee.

The ASBCA’s decision in Circle, LLC, ASBCA No. 58575 (July 1, 2015) involved a contract between Circle, LLC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, pursuant to which Circle was to construct a concrete flume on the Two Mile Canal in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. As part of its scope of work, Circle was to erect a Temporary Retaining Structure to stabilize the site while the flume was constructed.

On Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) will play host to six federal agencies holding an industry day forum directed at small businesses in Georgia.NOTE: As of Jan. 16, 2015, this event is booked to capacity, and no further registrations are being accepted.

The event is being sponsored by the Atlanta chapter of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) and the regional office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

The event, billed as “Building Partnerships and Collaborating for Success, a Small Business Industry Day and Matchmaking Event,” is open to all businesses in the region who wish to learn more about doing business with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the General Services Administration (GSA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

In addition to federal agencies, representatives of major prime contractors also are expected to be present, including Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, ICF International, RTI International, WYLE, Westat, Deloitte, and DB Consulting Group, Inc.

More than 200 vendors are expected to attend. Matchmaking events will be scheduled by vendors based on NAICS code requirements of government agencies and prime contractors. Details for the matchmaking aspect of the event will be promulgated separately to confirmed registrants.

All vendors participating in this event are expected to have the following completed prior to attending: SAM and DSBS registration, business cards, an elevator speech, and a capability statement. See web link above for more information.